NightStalkers
by AgentT
Summary: Buffy searches for a new group of vampires who seek to rule the world...what else is new?
1. NightStalkers Chapter 1

  
9:42 pm eastern  
  
The cold wind blew damp newspapers past drunks, wandering clubbers, and street-corner preachers. A few of them stuck to parked cars, bikes, and lampposts. The chattering of people walking rang through the alleyways and it only grew louder as it came to a crowd gathered outside a dark building. It was shrunken in, almost underground, almost hidden beneath the shadows. If not for the one glowing light bulb that hung from the lantern outside, partially obscured by the hulking bouncer, and the pounding music that vibrated off the old walls, no one would know it was there. The crowds hung around outside, cigarette smoke and alcohol permeating the air.   
  
The bouncer growled at a passing cigarette-holder. "No smoking." He said to the drifter. The drifter scoffed and walked along.  
  
Alex rode up to the curb and parked her bike. Taking off her helmet, she looked at her watch and sighed. Late again. She shrugged and walked out of the alley and made her way around the corner. Approaching the thick throng, she pushed her way through and to the bouncer.   
  
"Tough night?" She asked above the din.   
  
The bouncer cracked a smile. "Always." He said. He unhooked the worn Iron Gate and it creaked as she passed by, holding her helmet.   
  
A few members of the mass noticed the girl creeping by while they waited and they kindly expressed their outrage. Alex rolled her eyes as the bouncer threatened to punch a guy who was waving his bottle of scotch.   
  
As she pushed the door open, the bouncer shouted "She pours your drinks and she'll spit in them too!"   
  
Alex walked through the madness and waved to her 'public'. Various shouts of her name and a few fists in the air let other people know that she had arrived. She brushed a lock of long hair from her face.   
  
"Hey girl." Cindy said from behind the bar. Alex deftly jumped over the counter and threw her helmet into a cabinet under the bar and stuffed her leather jacket into it. She shut the cabinet and muttered a curse as it stalled on it's way to shutting. She stepped back and kicked the cabinet with the bottom of her boot. It rattled and then shut compliantly.   
  
"There are a lot of people outside." She said to Cindy as she pulled out a row of shot glasses.   
  
"Bull keepin' them straight?" Cindy asked.   
  
"Always." Alex smiled. A man came up to the bar and her grin disappeared. She exchanged a look with Cindy.   
  
"You must be new here." She said.   
  
"How do you know?" He asked.   
  
She waved a hand at him. "You don't fit in." She said. "What do you want?"  
  
"Beer is fine." He said.   
  
Alex looked at Cindy and shrugged. Cindy opened a cabinet to her left and pulled out a tall glass.   
  
As she filled it with beer, the man leaned forward. "What time do you get off?" He asked.   
  
Alex smiled and leaned forward. "For you? Never."   
  
She leaned back and the newbie's face glared in anger.   
  
He grabbed his beer and the foam sloshed onto the bar top. He walked away angrily.   
  
Alex looked at Cindy and they both started to laugh.   
  
***   
  
6:42 pm pacific  
  
"You know, I don't like guys like you." Buffy said, kicking a vampire. " It makes evil creatures look cheesy."   
  
"You tell em', Buff." Xander said, spitting out a kernel onto the grass below him. He and willow sat on a nearby bench and watched Buffy fight.   
  
"Yeah, you go." Willow nodded.   
  
Buffy whirled around and planted a stake in the vamp. She turned to her friends.  
  
Xander stopped chewing and clapped. Willow joined him in applauding.   
  
Her eyes went up as another vampire came jumping at her from behind the bench. Willow and Xander left their snacks and grabbed their stakes.   
  
"That's not a lot of vampires." Willow said, watching the two vamps advance toward the three.   
  
Suddenly three more appeared from the sides.  
  
"Wanna say that again, Will?" Xander said, laughing.   
  
They circled around the Slayer, Xander, and Willow, licking their fangs.   
  
Buffy made a face. "Ew. You know, I heard that toothpaste does wonders for that plaque."   
  
A girl vampire growled and ran forward, arms outreached for the nearest bare neck. Willow kicked her in the stomach and she went down. Xander threw her a bottle of holy water and the vampire shrieked in pain as the liquid burned her body.   
  
Buffy punched a vampire and he flipped over a tombstone. Jumping up and over him, landing on the soft grass, she turned and implanted her stake.   
  
Xander ducked behind the bench and kicked a male vampire's legs out from under him. The vampire hit his head on the bench seat as Xander stood up and ran past him.   
  
The vampire started to run after Xander. He felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned.   
  
"Hi." Willow said, and drove a stake into him. He burst into ashes and Buffy, Xander, and Willow regrouped.   
  
"Good work." Buffy said, dusting herself off.   
  
"Likewise." Xander nodded.   
  
"Well, I suppose there's some big evil going on." Willow said. "Should we get back to base?"  
  
"Are you guys going Riley-speak on me?" Buffy asked.   
  
"Negative, General." Xander said, saluting.   
  
As they walked out of the cemetery, Willow grabbed the cookies and chips. She turned to Buffy. "Are you a general?"   
  
"More like a Commander."   
  
"What's the difference?"   
  
"General is army." Xander immediately said. "Commander is Navy."   
  
"Well, then isn't there supposed to be a Captain?" Willow asked.   
  
They started walking back to the Magic shop.   
  
"Yeah, but Commander sounds so much cooler." Xander said. "Captain invokes images of fishermen and fish sticks."  
  
Willow and Buffy turned to look at him.   
  
"Or maybe I'm just hungry." Xander said.   
  
"Wanna get something to eat before heading back to base?" Buffy asked them.   
  
***   
  
10:33 pm eastern  
  
Alex filled another shot glass with whiskey and looked at her watch.   
  
Across the bar at the other end, Cindy was yelling at a guy in a cheap Hawaiian look-alike shirt who was trying to hit on the new waitress.   
  
"Cindy!" Alex yelled.   
  
She didn't turn around.   
  
"Cindy!" Alex shouted again. The guy waved her off and continued to bother the waitress. Alex sighed and marched over to Cindy.   
  
"Need some help?" She asked.  
  
"Hey, get the hell away from me." The guy spat out. He stank of beer and cigarette smoke.   
  
Alex frowned.   
  
She grabbed the guy's shirt as he turned away to focus his attention on the waitress, who was looking more nervous by the minute.   
  
"Hey!" She shouted at him.   
  
He didn't respond. His grip tightened on the attendant's arm. Beer on her tray was sloshing all over the place.   
  
Alex groaned and jumped up on the bar top, her boots slipping on the wet countertop. She caught herself from falling off and she pulled the guy by the shirt over to the bar.   
  
"What the hell are you doing, bitch?" He shouted at her, the pungent smell of beer permeating her senses. Alex reached back and punched the guy squarely in the nose.   
  
Somewhere in the distance, hidden partially by the darkness and the music, there was a loud cheering and some clapping.   
  
"Cut it out or you're gonna be bleeding worse than that." She muttered to him before Rio, the other bouncer, came and hauled him away.   
  
"Geez, Alex." He said to her as he pulled the Hawaiian shirt guy away, avoiding the bloody nose. He shook his head and grinned.   
  
Alex jumped back down. She looked at the stunned and frightened waitress.   
  
"You all right?" She asked.   
  
For a second she didn't reply.   
  
Alex leaned forward and tapped her on the head. "Hey, you okay?"   
  
"Wha-yeah." She said. "thanks."   
  
"No problem. You're new here, right?"   
  
She nodded slowly. She was still holding her tray, but her hands were chalk white, gripping the tray.   
  
"Here, let me take that." Cindy said, smiling and taking the tray away.   
  
"What's your name?" Alex asked the girl.   
  
"Lila." She said quietly. "I started work last night."   
  
"That's it. I wasn't working last night." Alex smiled. "I'm Alex, you already know Cindy, I guess."   
  
"Yeah. Uh, thanks for-"   
  
"no problem. Don't let it turn you off; this is a pretty decent job. Some jerks come in once in a while but if they give you any trouble, find Rio and if you can't get over here and we'll handle it."   
  
Alex cleaned a glass and filled it with beer again.   
  
"Thanks." Lila said. "I'm just not used to this. It's dark, loud, and I can barely hear myself think." She laughed.   
  
"Then you're in the center of the action." Alex said. "Leeta built the bar so that we'd hear ourselves think and more importantly, hear the orders. See this stuff on the back of the wall?"   
  
Lila nodded as Alex pointed at the background of black.   
  
"That's insulation. High quality stuff, it dampens all the noise. Here, come back over here." Alex said and Lila uncertainly climbed over. Her knees slid on the wet counter and she almost fell off.   
  
"Wow." Lila said as she crossed the bar top. It was quieter.   
  
Cindy came by and gave them two cans.   
  
"What's this?" Lila asked, looking at the can of Rocket.  
  
"We don't drink on the job, Leeta told you that right?" Cindy asked.   
  
"Yeah." Lila said. "I picked the wrong job. I should've been a bartender." She smiled.   
  
"Well, it pays good and if you know how to pour drinks right, you might get something over here. Talk to Leeta." Alex said, taking a drink from her soda.   
  
Cindy glanced at the door. "Trouble." She said, grinning.   
  
"What's going on?" Lila asked in confusion.   
  
"You don't want to know." Alex said. "Just deliver these to those guys over there and lay low."   
  
"O-Okay." Lila nodded as Cindy handed her some bottles.   
  
"Hello Ladies." A voice said, and then a body appeared.   
  
"Hey, Chad." Cindy said.   
  
"It's Detective Chad to you." The man said, smiling.   
  
It was Detective Chad Martin of the special homicide unit for the NYPD. 26 years old and a detective for almost a year, he saw the original building get converted from a bread factory to an art studio in the mid 80's when he was a teenager and when the studio went bankrupt in '92, he saw Leeta Paulson arrive and rescue the building on the day it was about to be demolished for an apartment high rise to be built. With enough charm and money, she bought out the corporation and set up a bar.   
  
And a resident of New York for his entire life, he had his share of late night check ups and warnings from when he was a rookie cop assigned to deal with local bars and their rowdy guests. For his age, he was considered a fast riser among the ranks. He was 18 years old when joined the force in 1992, and then he made Detective in 1997, the girls were still in school. He met Cindy and Alex when they were just babies and they were his neighbors, one girl living on either side. His mother used to joke that he was born to woo the girls. They grew up together. Despite their age difference and the social gap, they became the best of friends. When Cindy's parents died in '95, she moved in with Alex and they became like sisters. The girls started working for Leeta in 1998. He would've busted them for being underage bartenders, but all they were doing was tacking up flyers and advertisements for the bar. He was 25 when he made Detective. And now he was 26, 1 year later. And they were 20 years old. How different their lives had turned out.   
  
He smiled as he saw a familiar face. A guy dressed in black stumbled through the crowds, hoping to reach the bar. He stepped through, saw Chad, and immediately turned back around. He had kicked the guy into jail a few months ago for starting bar fights. The guy turned on Chad and hit him with a left hook. Chad didn't have to go back a second time to wrangle him into handcuffs though cause Alex left the bar and hit the idiot with the right hook he remembered teaching her when they were young.   
  
"Oh, Scraggy's back." Cindy said.   
  
"What can we get you, Chad?" Alex asked. "Oh wait, excuse me. Detective Chad."   
  
"Laugh all you want." He said. He pulled out a photo of a young girl. She was perched on a swing, the backdrop of a pastel summer surrounding her.   
  
"New girlfriend?" Cindy asked.   
  
"Wouldn't work out." Chad said.   
  
"Why not?"   
  
"Cause she was killed last night on a jogging path next to the university." He said, nodding.   
  
"Who did it?" Alex said.   
  
"No one knows. There weren't any witnesses. So I was wondering if any of you had heard anything."   
  
Alex shook her head. "Nothing through here."   
  
"How'd it happen?" Cindy asked.   
  
Chad sighed. "That's tough too. We sent some stuff down to the feds cause they had some experience a few cases, and they said that it could be ritual killing. The coroner's report stated that all the blood had been drained from the body. This is the second body we've found" He shook his head. "But there's missing persons reports trailing back through December."   
  
"Ritual killings, huh?" Alex asked. "You got some pictures?"   
  
"Yep." Chad said. He pulled out a manila file folder and handed it to Alex. She opened it up and flipped through. Cindy stifled a groan in disgust and went to serve people waiting for drinks.   
  
Alex nodded.   
  
"I know you were studying this kind of thing." Chad said. "So I was wondering if you had any ideas."   
  
"Well, you did say that you gave this to the feds. They're pretty smart. Smarter than me, I just do it as a hobby. I'm just trying to get into law school." She smiled.   
  
"Yeah, but I trust you more." Chad said. "They act like NYPD cops are nothing but donut crunchers."   
  
"Wouldn't be the first time." She took one photo out and handed it to Chad. "See the puncture marks? I've heard of some vampire cults that revolve around the city, but this is different. Most of them won't go into killing, much less puncture marks."   
  
"Vampires?"   
  
"No, vampire cults. Big difference. Vampires actually suck blood from their victims. Vampire cults drink blood, but very rarely do they actually bite. The ones that do occasionally drink human blood won't bite each other. Too dangerous."   
  
"Hey, can I get a drink around here?" A patron shouted at her. Alex stopped talking to Chad.   
  
"Shut up over there and maybe you will." She shouted back. She turned back to Chad. "Hang tight, I have a break at 11:30."   
  
"Sure." Chad said, shrugging. He looked around him, lost, as Alex left to tend to the whiner.   
  
He hung around the bar for a few minutes before Cindy strode over laughing.   
  
"What's so funny?"   
  
"You." Cindy said. "You and your blue sweaters. What's with the hair?"   
  
"What?" He consciously held his hand up to his head.   
  
"I think you should avoid the smokers, the gel might catch on fire."   
  
"it's not that bad." Chad said, grinning. His grin disappeared. "Is it?"   
  
***   
  
7:33 pm pacific  
  
"Well, I didn't say there was anything bad." Giles said.   
  
"You implied." Buffy said. "And usually implied means that there's something waiting to end the world."   
  
"Well, I just noticed the dry spell we've been having."   
  
"Dry spells are good." Willow said. "I wouldn't want a…wet spell of vampires."   
  
  
"I haven't gathered anything from my books." Giles said, shutting one. A puff of dust rose from it and he waved a hand to clear it.  
  
"That's a first." Xander said. "So what now, oh wise one?"   
  
"We go to Willy." Buffy said, getting up from her chair.   
  
***   
  
"I don't know anything!"   
  
CRASH!  
  
"And I'm here for a spa treatment. Come on, Willy, you know the ins and outs of the scum that pass through this town, what can you tell me tonight?" Buffy pushed him closer to the glass that was perched on the counter. The edge poked against his shirt.   
  
"You're a good guy!" Willy said, eyeing the glass.   
  
"Only to good people, Willy." She said, shoving him closer.   
  
"Okay, okay!" Willy said. "Let me down already!"   
  
"Not until I get what I want."   
  
"I've always been honest with you." He said.   
  
She pulled him closer down. "You know, Willy, I don't think you're in a position to bargain."   
  
"All right! There's supposedly a new vampire in town up in New York. He's a real old guy, not like the idiots you dust."   
  
A few vampires turned and growled.   
  
"No offense."   
  
"What else?"   
  
"He's building a gang or something, an army."   
  
"Army for what?"   
  
"Don't know." Willy said.   
  
Buffy sighed. She tightened her grip and pulled Willy closer.   
  
"I really don't know!"   
  
"Okay." Buffy said, dropping Willy. He landed on the floor of his bar with a loud thump.   
  
"Thanks, come again." He said from the floor as Buffy left.   
  
***   
  
Back at the Magic shop, Buffy started to pack.   
  
"How do you propose you get to New York?" Giles said.   
  
"I've got money, I can get a flight."   
  
"Right, and how do you suppose to bring weapons through the airport?" Giles asked.   
  
Buffy stopped in the middle of stuffing a crossbow into her pack.   
  
"Okay, that's a problem. But if there is a big party in New York, I should be there to stop their fun."   
  
"I understand, Buffy, but you can't walk into an airport carrying stakes. I know a Watcher-"   
  
"More of those guys?"   
  
"-a watcher in New York who I've helped before. I could call him up and see if he would get weapons."   
  
"You know, I think we should get rid of the chosen one crap and start an international agency. I'm getting tired of doing all the dirty work."   
  
"What's going on?" Xander said as he walked in, followed by Willow. They were carrying sodas and pizza. Buffy could smell the pizza and her stomach rumbled.   
  
"A big bad vamp is heading up a vampire colony up in New York." Buffy said.   
  
"Oh, a trip." Willow said. "When do we leave?"  
  
"We don't. I'm going, you're not."   
  
"But you're going to need backup." Willow said. "We're the Scoobies."   
  
"But it's going to be dangerous."   
  
"Which is all the more reason why you need someone there with you." Giles said. "I think you should consider it."   
  
"I don't know." Buffy said. "I mean, I have no plans, I don't even know where I'm going to be staying-"   
  
"I'll get on that one." Giles said, and picked up the phone.   
  
"But it's okay, Buffy. We can handle it." Willow said. "I wouldn't want you to go into it alone."   
  
"Me either." Xander said. There was a deafening silence. "So, will the Scoobies ride again?"   
  
Buffy sighed. "I guess the Scoobies will ride again." She said, rolling her eyes.   
  
"Yay! Well, not for the vampires and fighting part, but for the riding part."   
  
"We leave tonight." Buffy said. "First flight out to New York."   
  
"How many of us are going?" Xander asked.   
  
"That's a good question." Buffy said. "As less people as possible. If we're going to cut through, we can't have a big group."   
  
"Right. I guess we don't really need Tara, I mean, I have the magic aspect."   
  
"Anya's out." Xander said. "She won't want to come either."   
  
"And Spike can't travel in the day." Buffy said. "That's a big one, we need someone else with the strength."   
  
"I stumbled onto a recent copy of the New York times recently." Giles said.  
  
He showed them the newspaper.   
  
"There have been multiple murders over the past few weeks. The police think it's a serial killer, however, the abnormal nature of the killings would suggest-"   
  
"Vampires." Buffy nodded.   
  
"What would I do without you guys?"   
  
***  
  
11:38 pm eastern  
  
"So you think that it's a serial killer?" Chad asked. They were in a back room, where the employees usually take their breaks.   
  
Alex nodded. "These puncture marks aren't precision, which would mean that they were made from a set of something rather than surgical equipment. But it's still possible that he used something to perforate to jugular and extract the blood."  
  
"Well we're still getting reports back from Forensics." He said. "This is a tough one."   
  
"Why'd they send it to you?"   
  
"I don't know if you've heard-"   
  
"Yeah, that you're the new Fox Mulder of the department."   
  
"I don't know how, but I built up a reputation for serial killers with weird stuff." Chad said, shaking his head. "I think I should stop coming to you for advice."   
  
"Maybe you should buy something when you come." She said, laughing.   
  
Chad's beeper went off and he sighed.   
  
"I guess I should go." He said.   
  
"Come back soon." She said, smiling. They hugged and he waved as he left the backroom.   
  
"Bye Cindy." Chad said as he made his way through the crowd.   
  
"See you." She said between pours.   



	2. NightStalkers Chapter 2

2:10 am eastern  
  
"That was a rough night." Lila said.   
  
"A bit worse than normal." Alex said. "It happens once in a while."   
  
"You can leave if you're done." Cindy said to Lila, who was sitting at one of the tables.   
  
"I'm waiting for my boyfriend to come by." Lila said. "I don't like walking home alone." She cast a nervous look out into the empty lot.   
  
Cindy smiled. "When's he supposed to get here?"   
  
"About half an hour ago." Lila said, shaking her head. "My car is in the shop, so I can't drive home. It just makes me nervous to be walking in the middle of the night."   
  
"Yeah, I understand. Listen, if he doesn't get here by the time we're done, we'll give you a ride." Alex said.   
  
"Yeah, its not a problem." Cindy nodded.   
  
"Thanks." Lila said, nodding. "I wish he'd get here."   
  
"What's his name?"   
  
"Wade." Lila said. "He's a medical student."   
  
There was a knock at the front door. Lila turned, hoping it was Wade.   
  
She turned back around in disappointment as Cindy went to unlock the door.   
  
"What brings you back here, Detective?" Cindy asked, smiling.   
  
"Another one." He said, greeting Lila. He handed Alex a manila folder. "Fresh out of the dark room."   
  
"Oh that's disgusting." Cindy said.   
  
"The victim's name is Wade Hutchinson." He said.   
  
"What?" Lila stood up.   
  
"Uh, sorry, I don't think we've met-"   
  
"Wade?" Lila's face automatically turned a shade of green.   
  
"Cindy." Alex said as Cindy and Chad helped her to a seat.   
  
"I'm sorry." Chad said.   
  
He looked up at Cindy, who mouthed 'boyfriend'   
  
He nodded.   
  
"What happened to him?" She asked, tears starting to roll down her face.   
  
"We, uh…we don't know yet." He said, looking at Alex, who nodded. "We're working as hard as we can. Any help you can provide-"   
  
"We should take you home." Alex said, stowing away the last glass.   
  
"Yeah, I can do that. You guys look beat."   
  
Alex nodded as Chad led her to his sedan.   
  
"I guess we should get out of here." Cindy said.   
  
"Chad left the files." Alex said. "I'm gonna go see if he's still around."   
  
"Okay." Cindy said. "I'll meet you out back?"   
  
"No, you stay here, I'll come back."   
  
Gripping the folder, Alex left and looked around for the silver car. Not seeing it, she walked through to the back alley where here motorcycle was, wondering if he was there. Trying to rack her brain as to where Lila lived, she shook her head and turned to get back to the bar.   
  
She was hit with a shove and her back met the brick wall behind her.   
  
Cindy hummed a song as she wiped off the bar for the third time. When the bar was closed, they turned off most of the lights to dissuade wanderers from thinking they were open. But she couldn't help but want to turn them all on and light the room up. people died all the time, but this was a different case. She cursed under her breath, wondering why Alex always had to be the adventurous one and why she was so interested in the weird stuff that Chad asked her about.   
  
Out of their little family, Chad had always been the authority figure. He was always a big brother to them, looking after them. Alex learned early on to be wild and crazy and that's why she had a motorcycle. Cindy hated that thing, she never liked it, but Alex loved riding it. And Cindy was the homely and motherly one, always wanting a good cup of tea and a book. She as the sensible one, rational and a bit more low keyed than the other two. Her parents had died when she was younger, and she had no one to go to. She moved in with Alex, who's father had died when she was two years old. Her mother took in Cindy and loved her like she was a second child, like she did with Chad almost every evening that he had dinner at their house.   
  
Cindy looked around her and out the window. No one was there.   
  
She didn't want to open the door. She pressed her ear to the door, speculating whether she could hear Alex walking back.   
  
***   
  
"We're here, Giles." Buffy said, hefting her heavy bag. There was a static burst and she tapped her cell phone angrily. Behind her, Xander looked around suspiciously. Vampires didn't hang out in airports, did they? "Well where's your Watcher?"   
  
"He should be there. He called a few minutes ago and there was this horrid screech of traffic behind him. The connection was terrible, he muttered something or other about an accident." 5,000 miles away, Rupert Giles sat at the table, books all over the place. The pages fluttered lightly in the breeze the air conditioning provided.   
  
"Well, if he calls again, tell him that we're going to go patrolling nearby and that we'll meet him back at the hotel." Buffy said, unsure of her decision. But they couldn't waste a night's time waiting near Starbucks when they could be getting rid of at least some vampires, even if they didn't know where they were going.   
  
"Too bad none of us know New York." Willow said as Buffy hung up.   
  
"Yeah, too bad." She mumbled. "Giles said that this guy was somewhere in traffic, and I don't know…"   
  
"We should get a move on then." Xander said, lifting his duffel bag.   
  
As the three left the airport, looking like lost ducklings trying to find their mother, across town, Cindy was growing in fear.   
  
"Alex?" She said out loud, hoping for an answer.   
  
Nothing.  
  
***   
  
"You know, I really hate you guys." Alex said, kicking one of her attackers in the chest. He went flying back and the moonlight caught a brief glow off the assailant's eyes.   
  
Alex frowned as he lunged again. She hit him with a roundhouse kick and the attacker wiped blood from his face before he ran out of the alley.   
  
She dusted herself off and wiped the water from the alley on her jeans. Brushing her hair back, she walked out of the alley. As she walked back to the bar, she wondered who had came after her. Probably a mugger looking for cash, but what was with his eyes? The moonlight was dim, but what was with the face? She had seen what drugs did to people but this was just weird. Maybe it was a burn.   
  
She got to the corner and the door opened and Cindy ran out.   
  
"Where were you?!?" She asked, engulfing Alex in a hug.   
  
"In the alley. Some mugger came after me."   
  
"Oh my God." Cindy said, her eyes in the shape of large saucers. "Are you okay?"   
  
"Fine." She said, reassuring Cindy.   
  
"Let's go home." Cindy said. "We can call Chad and tell him what happened."   
  
***   
  
"Who the hell are you?" A vampire growled.   
  
"I hate to be cliché, but I'm a Slayer." Buffy said to the vampire. She watched as he signaled his friends and the three of them were soon surrounded by four vampires.   
  
Stakes and holy water ready, Xander and Willow took their places, flanking Buffy.   
  
Willow was mumbling something in Latin and Xander's eyes shifted from one vampire to another. His brief military training allowed him to note the individual weaknesses of each body. He leaned over to Willow.   
  
"The girl on the left has a bad knee." He said.   
  
Willow nodded, still speaking.   
  
Buffy's hand tightened on her stake and she waited. It was a standstill. No one made a move.   
  
A newspaper floated by.   
  
"How long do you expect me to stand like this?" Buffy asked.   
  
"As long as it takes for me to kill you." One vampire said.   
  
"Ooh. Trembling in fear here." Xander said, rolling his eyes.   
  
"Well, I've got time and you're wasting it, so why don't we get this over with?" Buffy said. She stepped back. "Will?"   
  
Willow stepped forward, hands raised palms outstretched. The vampires looked at each other, bewildered.   
  
A few phrases in Latin…  
  
A few balls of energy….  
  
A few slightly toasty vampires…  
  
"Thanks, Will." Buffy said, grinning. "Have you been working on that?"   
  
"You could tell?" Willow said happily.   
  
One toasty vampire from the left got up. "You'll pay for that, Slayer." He quickly glanced at his now two comrades. The third had suffered the worst of the energy blasts Willow had generated and was now a burnt cinder in the corner.   
  
"Right. Whatever." Buffy said as she ran forward and planted a Stake into the vampire. A few flakes of burnt flesh scraped off and landed on her jacket. She made a face and shook it off. As the dust settled onto the pavement, Willow kicked the girl vampire in the knee and she cried out in pain while Xander staked her. The rest of the vampires were quickly dusted after that.   
  
"Let's get out of here."   
  
In the distance, a siren shrieked through the city air and Buffy and company ducked back into the shadows as the police car rolled by. Once it was out of sight, they crept out of the alley.   
  
Buffy gave a thumbs up to Xander and Willow when she saw that the cop car had taken a turn and was out of reach. She turned the corner and-  
  
"Hi."   
  
She ran straight into him. If it weren't for her reflexes and the slow rate she was walking, she would've been knocked over. He was young and he wore a leather jacket. His soft gray sweater reminded her of Riley. And his hair…it was short, spiked, too much gel. A few brooding looks and tormented thoughts, and he could've been an Angel double.   



	3. NightStalkers Chapter 3

Shaking her head, she said, "Sorry."   
  
Buffy, Xander, and Willow started to walk past him.   
  
"Not so fast." He said, taking Buffy by the arm. When they turned, he was holding a badge.   
  
"Detective Martin, NYPD."   
  
"What can we do for you, officer?" Buffy asked, smiling.   
  
"Why were you in the alley?" He asked. "You don't look like you're from around here."   
  
"Just taking a walk." She said. "We're from California, we're meeting a friend."   
  
"And what are you doing in the alley?"   
  
"Looking for our friend." Buffy said.   
  
"In the alley." He said, looking behind him.   
  
"Right." Xander said.   
  
"How about we come down to the station." He said.   
  
Buffy sighed.   
  
"Look, it's late and I have things to do. So instead of giving me a hard time about it, why don't we just go down to the station and then you can explain to me why exactly you're in the alley in the middle of the night." He waved a hand at his car.   
  
Willow, Xander, and Buffy exchanged looks.   
  
'I can't believe this." Buffy said as she climbed into the car after Willow.   
  
***   
  
"Can you really do this?" Buffy said. "I mean, I've done nothing wrong. Did you see me murder anyone? No. Why are we being arrested?"   
  
Chad laughed. "If you were being arrested, you'd have cuffs on. Look, there've been some problems lately with parties and murders and you know the deal. We're just trying to keep it safer."   
  
"Well, the world thanks you." Willow said. "Can we go now?"   
  
"Sorry." Chad said.   
  
"How old are you?" Buffy asked, squinting. He couldn't be older than they were.   
  
Chad laughed. "I'm 26."   
  
"Wow. And to think, they say that young people have no direction in life." Buffy said. "You've obviously done well, Detective."   
  
"Okay, we're here." He said as he pulled up to a brightly lit police headquarters.   
  
"Wonderful. Do I get a mint on my pillow?" Buffy grumbled.   
  
"I never learned your names." He said as he walked behind them.   
  
Buffy raised her hand. "Buffy Summers."   
  
Xander raised his. "Xander Harris."   
  
Willow sighed and raised hers last. "Willow Rosenberg." She turned around. "Who are you again?"  
  
"Detective Chad Martin." He said.   
  
"Well, Detective, we just got here and we're suffering from jetlag, can we go?" Buffy said.   
  
"But you haven't even seen my office yet." He said, smiling. He opened the door to let them in.   
  
Buffy's smile tightened and she walked in.   
  
***   
  
Inside the office, Alex and Cindy were sitting, twiddling their thumbs. Chad wasn't home, but according to Quinn, his friend, he'd had called from his cell phone to say that he'd be coming in with a few stragglers.   
  
"Are you okay?" Alex asked Cindy.   
  
"not really. Considering my best friend almost got killed tonight."   
  
"I did not almost get killed." Alex said, laughing.   
  
Cindy shot her a mean look. "How can you laugh?"   
  
"Because I can handle myself."   
  
"You sure? He could've had a gun, or a knife."   
  
"Look, I can take care of myself. Which reminds me, you haven't been to any of those self defense classes I wanted you to take, have you?" Alex sighed, shaking her head.   
  
"I'm not like you. I can't fight."   
  
Alex shook her head. "Anyone can fight. It's New York. You need to learn how to defend yourself."   
  
"Okay, fine. But nevertheless you were attacked tonight." She said.   
  
"Okay, so we tell Chad. He'll put out a post it to the other guys about a guy with weird eyes wandering around, trying to mug people. They see those every day." Alex smiled. She glanced to her right at the pool of rookie cops and mail boys staring through the glass.   
  
She smiled and waved. The crowd seemingly turned pale at the same time.   
  
Cindy cast a look over at them and laughed.   
  
A familiar blonde spiked head appeared and Quinn talked to him for a minute.   
  
"You know, I think you should consider installing permanent blinds in your office." He said, looking at the guys.   
  
"Why?" He said, then looked into the office. And he saw the two figures waving. "Oh."   
  
He laughed and turned back to Quinn.   
  
"You tell these guys that these girls are like my sisters. If any of them even look at them in a way they don't like they're going to have to deal with me."   
  
As he walked toward his office, Quinn said, "I don't think they'll need to deal with you, man. Alex can kick their asses all she wants."   
  
"You tell them that too." Chad said, pointing at Quinn.   
  
Alex and Cindy watched Chad enter the office, trailed by three people about their age.   
  
"Are we having a party?" Alex asked.   
  
Buffy looked at the girl and frowned. She wore black jeans and a black tank top. Her boots were propped up on the detective's desk. The other girl…forgot her name, she was African American, and she had a small town look coupled with a pacifistic innocence. She could tell that the tank top girl was a fighter. She reminded her of Faith actually. The other one probably whipped up a great pie.   
  
"Hey, it's-" Chad checked his watch. "4:55 am. What's going on?"   
  
"There was a mugger in the street." Cindy said, swallowing.   
  
"Are you okay?" Chad asked Cindy.   
  
"I wasn't there." She said, reassuring him. "But Alex was."   
  
"That's good." Chad said. He sat down at his desk and sprayed a plant with a mist of water.   
  
"Aren't you even going to ask if she's okay?" Buffy asked, more out of curiosity than respect.   
  
"She can handle herself." Chad said, nodding.   
  
Alex shrugged.   
  
"Alex Morgan, Cindy Rider, this is Buffy, Xander, Willow."   
  
"Hey." They said to each other, strangely. Neither knew what the other was there for.   
  
"So anyways, I went by your place and you weren't there. I called you on your cell phone."   
  
Chad held up his phone.   
  
"Low battery. I figured that. So we came here." Alex said.   
  
"Okay, and what about?" Chad said.   
  
"Your files." She said, handing them to him.   
  
"Oh yeah, I left those, didn't I?" He said, taking them.   
  
"Okay, no offense, but it's really really early. I'm about to pass out. Can we get this over with, and why are we even here? Again, we haven't done anything wrong." Buffy said.   
  
Cindy looked at them. "Why are they here?"   
  
"I picked them outside the alley next to the old bakery." He said.   
  
Quinn knocked on the door.   
  
"Forensics came by, dropped off the new information on that double we found last night." Quinn said, handing him papers and photos. Before they made it to Chad, Alex grabbed them.   
  
"That's interesting." She said, reading.   
  
"Alex, we have guests." He said. While she looked up, he snatched the papers away.   
  
"All right. So you're not from New York." He said to Buffy, Xander, and Willow. "Where are you from?"   
  
"California." Xander replied.   
  
"Okay, and California, where?" He asked.   
  
"Sunnydale." Willow said.   
  
"Why are you here?"   
  
"Visiting a friend." Buffy said. It wasn't a lie if she actually believed the old "any friend of Giles is a friend of mine."   
  
"What's this friend's name?"   
  
"Marcus Leland." Buffy replied, squinting. She had the name in her pocket, if only she could-  
  
"Isn't that the professor at the university?" He asked Alex.   
  
"That's him. He's a professor of the occult and mythology." She said.   
  
"Okay, and why are you visiting him?"   
  
"He's my uncle." Willow said.   
  
"I thought you said he was your friend."   
  
He looked at Alex and Cindy. They shrugged.   
  
"He's my uncle." Willow said.   
  
"Okay, in any case, why don't you call up this uncle and tell him that you're here. He'd probably be better off knowing where you were."   
  
"Don't have to." Alex cut in, pointing out the window.   
  
A harried looking Englishman made his way to the office.   
  
"Hello." He said.   
  
"Uncle Marcus!" Willow said, jumping up. He patted her on the back nervously. The poor man was probably wondering what delusions this girl was on.   
  
"Mr. Leland?" Chad asked.   
  
"Yes."   
  
"All right, well we're done here, I guess." He said. "You're free to go."   
  
They smiled tightly at him and as Buffy stood up, she noticed the photo laying on top of his desk.   
  
Two puncture marks.   
  
"Hey you guys should come to the bar sometime, if you've got time." Alex said, winking at Chad, who was shaking his head and mouthing a 'no'  
  
"Uh, we're not really..." Leland started.   
  
"Here's a card." Cindy said, giving one to Buffy.   
  
"Thanks." She said.   
  
As they left the station, Leland started a long string of apologies.   
  
"I am terribly sorry." He said. "This way." He led them to a dusty blue Honda. "there was a big traffic mix-up and I couldn't get a connection to Giles if my life depended on it."   
  
"It's all right." Willow said. "We were okay."   
  
"Right. Of course. Well, I suppose you'll want to get some rest." He said, though it seemed more of a statement for himself than for them. The man's clothes were rumpled and he had the weary look of someone who hadn't seen sleep in a long time.   
  
"I guess we should." Buffy said, noticing this.   
  
***   
  
"Seriously, are you all right?"   
  
"Fine." Alex said, smiling. "Okay, about these new reports."   
  
"Nothing new." He said, throwing them to her. "Mostly some chemical readings and a whole lot of nothing. Basically reiterating that she had all the blood taken out of her and that the intruder, whoever he was, they used some kind of siphon. The blood was gone and basically, we're stumped."   
  
"Stumped, huh?" Cindy said. "Well you should get some sleep."   
  
"Yeah, you look worse than Scraggy." Alex said, getting up.   
  
"We'll get out of your way." She said.   
  
"Be safe." He waved as they left.   
  
"Maybe you should ride in the car tonight." Cindy said.   
  
"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Alex said, getting on her motorcycle. Putting her helmet on, she revved up the Ninja and followed Cindy's car out into the street.   
  
***   
  
Cindy slept soundly and pulled her blanket closer as Alex walked by the closed room, eating a candy bar. Sitting down with her laptop, she sat in the darkness, illuminated by the bright screen of the machine. She typed in a few words.   
  
Sunnydale, California  
  
When the screen morphed into a long list of links, her eyes widened.   
  
And she started to read.   
  
***   
  
Chad threw his jacket on the couch and looked at his couch. His eyes went to the closed door of his bedroom. Back to the couch. He trudged to the couch and grabbed the cushion to sleep.   
  
  
20 minutes later  
  
The phone was ringing. And no one on Earth wanted to pick it up.   
  
Chad let out a muffled protest and his hand knocked over his jacket as he dug the phone up from the recesses of his couch cushion.   
  
"What?"   
  
"You're never going to believe this." A voice said excitedly.   
  
"Alex?"   
  
"I found out something very, very, very fun." She said.   
  
Chad sat up. "What are you talking about?"   
  
"Sunnydale, California." Alex said.   
  
The doorbell rang. Rolling his eyes, Chad wondered whether anything else that night was going to be ringing.   
  
He opened the door.   
  
Alex hung up and walked inside, laptop case in her hand.  
  
"What's going on?" He asked. He felt groggy, despite the sun being up.   
  
"I couldn't sleep." She said.   
  
"You're the only one." He said. He put the phone back on it's charger. "Why is that? You never sleep. Everytime I see you, you've been up for the entire night and you never seem to sleep."   
  
"Don't be silly, I sleep. Just not tonight." She said, grinning. She walked in, thought about taking her shoes off, saw the crumpled pieces of paper strewn all over the floor, and thought otherwise. She strolled through the mess, kicking stray pieces of debris away.   
  
"What's going on?" He asked.   
  
She sat down. "Well, I was digging around and Sunnydale seemed familiar, so I ran a search." She opened her laptop and showed him the screen.   
  
He stared at it. "What?"   
  
"The Hellmouth, Chad." She said. "Okay, imagine a convergence. A meeting point for all things bad. It's like a roach motel. It attracts evil like a roach motel attracts roaches."   
  
"But Roach Motels don't really work."   
  
"You get my point." She said. "Okay, according to the stuff I found, the Hellmouth is a mystical opening where all the evil and bad stuff comes along and sets up shop. And I also found-" She typed in something else and another site came up. "This was a little harder to find. But check this out."   
  
Chad squinted. "What the heck is a Slayer?"   
  
"Grunge-Metal band, but otherwise in the paranormal reference, it's one person that kills these bad and evil things that pass by."   
  
"You're kidding right?" He said.   
  
"Not at all, big brother. Check this out. According to legend, this Slayer has existed since the beginning of time, and it only happens once in every generation. Which means that there is one Slayer in this world right now."   
  
"And this applies…how?"   
  
"Okay, well as long as we're on the premise that legends aren't quite myth, there's also the modern vampire."   
  
Chad sat up. "What, like Dracula?"   
  
"Dracula wasn't a vampire. I'm talking about the modern day bloodsucking demon. According to recent legends and research, there have been numerous stories passed down. I mean, demons who suck the blood from other beings. Doesn't that sound like vampires? And doesn't it sound like your double murder?"   
  
"I thought you told me that was done by a serial killer."  
  
"I thought so, but think about it. Lots of people, lots of blood. Lots of sewers to run around in, and a lot of missing persons reports on your desk that corroborate with the murders."   
  
"I don't get it." He said. "Is it a serial killer or not? Are you telling me that vampires did this? You said that they didn't exist."   
  
"I never said that. I said that vampire cults existed, but I never said that vampires didn't."   
  
"So what you're saying is-"   
  
"Is that Buffy Summers, from Sunnydale, California, might be this generation's Slayer."   
  
"What?"  
  
"The Slayer, the one that kills-"   
  
"I heard you the first time. How exactly are you connecting this information?"   
  
"One. Sunnydale has a population less than this city has clean rats. Two, the mortality rate is skyrocketed. I mean, I've seen some bad figures, but this is bad. Considering their population, it's worse than New York. Third, only girls can be Slayers. Narrow down the agility and the life expectancy of the average-or should I say, above average-Slayer, and you have a list that's severely narrowed down. Then you add in the age requirements--"   
  
"What do you mean, age requirements?" Chad asked, shaking his head.   
  
"Think about it. You're born to fight evil. You can't be a 40-year-old housewife. And you can't be a toddler either. That makes the teenage years the best time to prepare, to train."   
  
"And all of this is just available on the internet?" He asked.   
  
Alex sputtered. "Well, I did call in some favors." She said.   
  
"I can't believe I'm saying this." Chad said. "Buffy is the Slayer…"   
  
"Yeah."   
  
"And she's here to-"   
  
"Kill vampires. Or demons. Or anything else bad."   
  
"Can she kill the rat population?"   
  
"Don't think it's evil enough." She said. "I looked some stuff up, it's pretty nasty."   
  
"So what now?"   
  
"I don't know. I went around town, did some looking. A few months ago, the warehouse down by the harbor was cleared out, bought by some unknown businessman that so far, no one's seen."   
  
"So…"   
  
"So I think that's where the vampires are hiding out."   
  
"You believe this?" Chad asked. "Vampires?"   
  
"it makes sense." She said.   
  
"What about the forensics lab reports?" He said. "How do they fit in?"  
  
"They mention a siphon." She said. "It's theorized that vampire teeth are equipped with an empty cavity that allows for liquid to be filtered up through the jugular."   
  
"You mean like holes in the fangs?"   
  
"Exactly. It's sort of like snake fangs, there's a cavity going to the open where venom can come out into the wound. Instead of that, why can't vampire fangs have hollow spaces to take blood up?"   
  
"That's disgusting." He said.   
  
"it could work." She said. "Do you have any leads right now?"   
  
"Not any involving vampires." He said.   
  
"True."   
  
***   
  
"You know, I had this checked last week." He said, as the car sputtered to an end.   
  
"No problem, I'll take a look." Xander said. At the girls' amused faces, he threw his hands up. "what? Xander Harris has done a few mechanical workings in his day."   
  
He got out of the car and popped the hood. Buffy and Willow got out also and sat on the trunk while Xander and Leland discussed.   
  
"As if I wasn't tired already." Willow said, laughing a little.   
  
"Right. And to think, we're in the Big Apple and the first thing we see is Cujo, the fanged wonder." Buffy said.   
  
"That detective was kinda cute though." She said.   
  
"Willow?" Buffy asked.   
  
"For you, I mean." She said, smiling.   
  
"I don't know. I don't prefer to meet my men in the middle of the street."   
  
"Not at all. You prefer to meet them while they're delivering cryptic messages or working for a top secret government underground agency."   
  
"Right." Buffy said, and they laughed.   
  
She pulled out the card that the girl gave her and looked at it. The nearby fluorescent signs advertising tattoo parlors and piercing pagodas lit her view enough.   
  
"The Underground." She said. "how original."   
  
"You thinking of partying?" Willow asked.   
  
"No time. We have a vampire colony to find." She said.   
  
"No worries." A voice said behind them.   
  
They spun around and a pack of vampires had surrounded the car. She spotted Xander and Leland in the mix, guarded by some of the minions.   
  
Buffy quickly did the math. Two in front of her, one of which was the leader. Four on the left and four on the right. Ten vampires. Against four people. And by the panicked look on Leland's face, she doubted that he knew much about fighting. Xander's eyes were sparked with a glimmer that she knew could only mean that he was thinking military again.   
  
Buffy looked at Willow.   
  
What were they going to do?  
  
***   
  
"I don't know." He said. "I really cant say that I believe any of this."   
  
"I'm sending out a theory." She said. "I cant say its true or not, but I have a theory. And there's a whole lotta legend to back it up."   
  
"But its all legend." He said.   
  
"That too."   
  
"Warehouse by the harbor, huh?"   
  
"Yep."   
  
  
  



End file.
